How Pope Francis Helped Broker Cuba Deal

President Obama thanked Pope Francis for his role in negotiating a more open policy on Cuba and the release of U.S. citizen Alan Gross from Cuban custody.

In a 15-minute speech announcing that the U.S. would normalize relations with Cuba, Obama said that the pope helped spur the change and personally thanked him. The Vatican then released a statement noting that the Vatican hosted delegations from both countries in October to negotiate the deal after Pope Francis had written to both leaders.

A senior administration official said that the appeal from the Pope was “very rare” and unprecedented.

“Pope Francis personally issued an appeal in a letter that he sent to President Obama and to President Raul Castro calling on them to resolve the case of Alan Gross and the cases of the three Cubans who have been imprisoned here in the United States and also encouraging the United States and Cuba to pursue a closer relationship,” said the official. “The Vatican then hosted the US and Cuban delegations where we were able to review the commitments that we are making today.”

American officials have also noted Francis’ deep familiarity with the Americas, being the first pope from the continent. The letter from Pope Francis “gave us greater impetus and momentum for us to move forward,” a white House official said. “Cuba was a topic of discussion that got as much attention as anything else the two of them discuss.”

The move is perhaps Pope Francis’ boldest foreign policy move yet, but it is not his first.

• He showed letter-writing prowess in September 2013, when he wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin, host of the G-20 Summit which Obama was attending, urging world leaders and the United States to oppose a military intervention in Syria.

• After visiting Bethlehem and Jerusalem in May, Pope Francis hosted both Israeli president Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas at the Vatican for a joint prayer service for Middle East Peace.

• When he visited South Korea in August, he sent a telegram to Chinese President Xi Jinping when the papal plane crossed into Chinese airspace—a historic step toward improved relations since the last time a pope visited East Asia, Chinese officials did not allow the plane to fly over Chinese territory.

When it comes to Cuba, Pope Francis is continuing the work of his predecessors. Just over half the Cuban population is Catholic, according to the Pew Research Center, and the Vatican stepped up its relations with the country over the past two decades. In 1998, Pope John Paul II became the first pope to visit Cuba. Pope Benedict XVI visited Cuba in 2012. At an outdoor mass, he urged Cuba to “build a renewed and open society, a better society, one more worthy of humanity and which better reflects the goodness of God.”

The announcement of the Vatican’s role in the U.S.-Cuba negotiations is particularly noteworthy as Pope Francis plans his first trip to the United States in September 2015. The Vatican has not said whether or not Pope Francis will travel to Cuba or other US cities on that trip.

Witness Cuba's Evolution in 39 Photos

An old American car, long a staple of Cuban roads, sits along Guanabo Beach, near Havana.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

A group of youngsters in Central Havana sit on a street corner to discuss the latest news of the Spanish La Liga football league. Their hair is styled like their idols'—soccer stars and Reggaeton singers.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

In route to his job as a welder, 62-year-old Carlos stops at a government cafeteria to buy cigarettes.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Cockfighting, a Cuban tradition, takes place in an anti-aircraft bunker to avoid the police. Fighting is not forbidden, but gambling, which is always present at the matches, is.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Antonio Perez Hernandez shows off his prize-winning rooster prior to a fight in Campo Florido.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Havana’s most famous street, the Malecón, as a cold front rolls in.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

At his teacher's request, Rodney Cajiga, gets his hair cut in Justiz, a small town east of Havana.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Corrugated zinc sheets barely cover a grocery store.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Jesus, a fisherman from Puerto Escondido, returns from the sea. “It was a good day, despite the cold front,” he said, displaying one of the fish he caught.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Roberto, 22, is a college dropout from the East, who moved to a small cottage in Havana to farm with his father, Jorge. “My wife got pregnant and I had to support her and the child. Here I have a chance," he said.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

A pumpkin for sale, cut in half for clients to see it is still fresh.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Delvis Montero, 39, works seven days a week making charcoal and earns $100 a month. “I work hard so my children can go to school and never have to do this extremely hard work," she said.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Madelin, who works at a Havana boutique, hitchhikes to work each morning rather than taking the bus.

Yunier Utre, 19, lives in the Teodoro Rivero settlement in Jaguey Grande, Matanzas province. He works in the mango plantations from sunup to sundown.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Tourists relax on lounge chairs at Melia Las Americas in Varadero, which is next to the only 18-hole golf course in Cuba.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

The wiring for the electrical system at a tenement in Old Havana.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Old Havana at dusk.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Juan Lara, 72, takes his cows to graze roughly 10 miles from his home every morning.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Juan Carlos has been a fisherman all his life. Close to 70, he keeps this cottage in the Puerto Escondido fishermen’s village. “I have a real house in my town, 20 miles from here," Carlos said.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Jaguey Grande’s Library, where students from nearby schools come every day to do their homework.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Fidel Hernandez sets fire to the bushes around the fence he just installed to keep his goats enclosed. He has taken his grandson with him, as he says that he loves to hang around his grandpa.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

The growth of small private businesses, like this one in Pedro Pi, is a sign of changing times.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

A woman at a telephone booth in Pedro Pi. There is only one phone in this farmer’s community, 12 miles from downtown Havana. Neighbors come to make their calls, get their messages and share gossip.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

A government-run auto repair shop in Jaguey Grande.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

A huge concrete school building.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Ricardo Rodriguez and his wife travel 30 miles every day to the town of Ceres to buy charcoal that they later sell in the town of Cardenas, near the Varadaero resort in Matanzas province. “The profits are meager, but we survive on that," Rodriguez said.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Aguedo Leon (far right), 82, goes to the cattle register in Campo Florido, Havana city, to report the birth of a calf. It is mandatory for farmers to do so immediately after the cow delivers. Failing to report a new birth can result in a $20 fine.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Outside Havana, an old American car with a new Japanese engine is used as a taxi.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

At the Puerto Escondido fishermen’s village, a welder repairs the carriage they use to move fish into town.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Riding on horse drawn carriages is still the main way to move in the Cuban countryside.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Ormiles Lores Rodriguez, 40, works as an accountant at the Grito de Baire farmimg cooperative. She says salaries have improved and employees get bonuses every three months if they meet their output quotas.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Dusk falls on Old Havana.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Despite its age, the driver claims his car can reach speeds of 100 miles per hour, thanks to its engineering that includes a mix of American, Russian, Japanese and Cuban parts.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Two young men wait to go out with a girl in Old Havana. "We dress to impress her," they said, "and we take pictures to our barber for him to know exactly what we want."

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

Alicia, 8, crosses the street to buy candy in Patricia’s Cafeteria, 2 miles from Guanabo beach.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

An aging car drives through Old Havana at dusk.

Joakim Eskildsen for TIME

A woman prays to Yemaya, the sea goddess, on the Malecón, Havana's main esplanade.